Short Interest in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Declines By 5.7%

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,880,000 shares, a drop of 5.7% from the March 15th total of 13,660,000 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 5,600,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at ConocoPhillips

In other ConocoPhillips news, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total transaction of $953,070.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 607,000 shares of ConocoPhillips stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.91, for a total value of $76,427,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 6,780 shares in the company, valued at $853,669.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher P. Delk sold 8,505 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.06, for a total transaction of $953,070.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 700,775 shares of company stock worth $87,615,169 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 27,672,104 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $3,211,901,000 after purchasing an additional 108,956 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,712,617 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $2,752,325,000 after purchasing an additional 4,726,952 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,647,723 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,964,432,000 after purchasing an additional 3,497,750 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,486,871 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,495,927,000 after purchasing an additional 386,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,028,061 shares of the energy producer's stock valued at $1,440,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152,907 shares in the last quarter. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ConocoPhillips Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:COP traded down $0.72 on Tuesday, reaching $129.53. 3,875,625 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,500,706. The firm has a market cap of $152.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.24. ConocoPhillips has a 1-year low of $95.70 and a 1-year high of $135.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $119.60 and a 200-day moving average of $116.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The energy producer reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $15.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.47 billion. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 22.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.71 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 9.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. ConocoPhillips's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays started coverage on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $158.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $173.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $139.00 to $133.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $139.00 price objective (up from $132.00) on shares of ConocoPhillips in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.59.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.